Miss Gunning

With her hair swept up and arranged in elaborate curls, Miss Gunning is looking radiant with a blush to her cheeks caused no doubt by the attention and scrutiny of the artist. She is elegantly dressed for the evening’s entertainment in a beautiful white and pink silk dress with a wide neckline and demi-gigot sleeves that emphasise her tiny waistline.

The portrait is signed along the right hand edge ‘A Sketch by Geo Freeman 1831’. It is housed in a later gilt-metal frame backed with leather. It also comes with a small metal name plaque (now detached).

The son of a Connecticut farmer, George Freeman (1789-1868) worked as a portrait artist in New York state for several years before travelling to London in order to study art. He remained in England for over twenty years, working in Manchester and in Bath. In 1841 he added royalty to his clientèle when he painted Queen Victoria. Freeman returned to America shortly thereafter where he found himself in demand as a portraitist.